That's a free-access link, so you can see for yourself what 4 lessons French learned.
But I liked the C.S. Lewis quote in the abstract. It's so abstract! The "highest reality," eh?
And now, this blog has a theme today: reality. This is only the second post of the day, but the first post was about a NYT column called "Could Eminem Snap Gen X Voters Back to Reality?"
Is there a sense — at the NYT and elsewhere — that reality is at stake, that it's out there, eluding us, and we need to struggle to get a grip on it, and we are losing?
I am reminded of Trump's saying — on the Joe Rogan podcast — that when he became President, "it was very surreal." But: "When I got shot, it wasn't surreal. That should have been surreal. When I was laying on the ground, I knew exactly what was going on. I knew exactly where I was hit.... I knew exactly what happened.... With the presidency, it was a very surreal experience.... And all of a sudden I'm standing in the White House, and it was very, very surreal...."
And: "Reality, what a concept!"
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93 comments:
The lefties think they own reality. They are in their own reality, kinda like virtual reality.
Delusion and gaslighting were seemingly strong tools for the DNC, but Kamablah's complete lack of positive graces made it too easy to expose all the sophistry for what it was. Oligarchs like Bezos might survive a crash with reality. Donald Trump certainly has, in the financial and literal senses. Can most journalists do the same? Very doubtful. So much for Strength through Joy.
Courage is the essential virtue, because without it, one will not be able to resist the world's manifold temptations to forsake the practice of all the other virtues.
Reading David French's article, it reminds me that so many people who are against Trump, view those for Trump as the ones who are raging. Yet- just watch the Kamala Korps in action over the past week. From Kamala almost mocking herself in her 12+ speeches repeating the same raging tone and flaring arms as she shouts 'Never again' regarding the idea of Trump as President. Or Michelle Obama raging about men and...just those f****** men, if only they would think like us. Or any number of other more desperate sounding Democrats flailing about with warnings and/or threats this past week.
And it'll only be getting worse, the doomsayig and threats coming from Democrats over these next 10 days.
I listen to Trump and he sounds happy, engaging, funny, and confident. I listen to Kamala and I hear desperation and see visible flailing about. And David French wants you to know he's perfectly comfortable with his choices.
So am I.
Their reality is our nightmare.
I’m not sure about Robin Williams and reality. Williams always seemed off to me and not just because he was being humorous. It was sad he took his life, but it wasn’t surprising to me. It was like he was always on tilt, which made him a great comedian, and when he pulled back, he made good drama. I think most people’s reality is in the middle and boring, not humorous or dramatic.
CBS EVENING NEWS
Rather's Curtain Closer: 'Courage'
By Dan Collins
March 8, 2005 / 8:43 AM EST / CBS
Dan Rather ended an era at CBS News on Wednesday night by signing off as Evening News anchor with a familiar message:
"Courage"
Many here have remarked on Trump’s stage persona and that leads me to interpret his “not surreal” description of being shot using Eminem’s lyrics:
Back to reality
Oh here comes gravity
“Meh”
—— Cowardly Lion
I was going to say that C.S. Lewis had the courage to get really, really fat but it turns out that was G.K Chesterton.
Gen X? Gen X was in it's 20 and 30s when Eminem became big. I *think* we mainly view him as an amusing white rapper troll but I know of zero actual Gen X Eminem fans--- i.e. someone. That would pay money to see his shows. The millennials adore him. We were too old and cynical to see him other than a white rapper cash in act. But, a *very good* white rapper cash in act. One of the problems reaching Gen X is people have no clue who we are. They think we are millennials.
Yes. Two examples: They always say we are raging (Dan Rather said the midterms of ‘92 were decided by a temper tantrum) yet every survey shows that conservatives are far happier and content overall than liberals. Second the dialing of leftist rage and rhetoric to eleven in this campaign illustrates their propensity for projection and their utter desperation.
And actual reality is theirs.
Sounds like Trump was dissociating in office? Derealization or something like that. Not good. Not that I believe in that stuff.
"I was going to say that C.S. Lewis had the courage to get really, really fat but it turns out that was G.K Chesterton."
The fence stays up, then. Good.
Does David French really think John McCain was less libertine or more pro-life than Trump? I think he just did a better job hiding it. Why wasn't David concerned about that guy's multiple marriages and affairs?
Some say my birth year is the tail end of Boomer and some say it’s X. Either way as a lifelong musician who generally despised rap I did have appreciation for the occasional clever lyrics with a good hook. Eminem had a knack for writing interesting lyrics and a production team that more often than not wrapped his rhymes in excellent memorable rhythms and riffs. Consistently so. He ain’t just another Vanilla Ice like your statement implies.
"Rarely do I get a precise answer. There is simply a sense that we can’t be trusted, that we’re on the other side."
For me, the precise moment was when NPR announced that they were not going to cover the Hunter laptop story because they felt their audience wasn't interested.
NPR was important to me. They were always liberal and reported on important events from that perspective. They were honest, but had different values. When NPR engaged in an obviously partisan cover-up, they could no longer be trusted as a news source.
David French learned nothing from being a Never Trumper.
“Is there a sense — at the NYT and elsewhere — that reality is at stake, that it's out there, eluding us, and we need to struggle to get a grip on it, and we are losing?“
Yes. The “we” that have a firm grip on reality have been imploring Trump supporters to understand the cultish nature of the Trump movement, to see clearly the future under an autocracy. It’s going to take huge amounts of courage to break free.
French is a ridiculous charactet along with Russell moore
Yes, if being president was surreal to him…not good indeed.
When I hear about depravity
It hurts me in my cavity
You see I got me a sweet tooth
And when she was bobbin’ in teh booth
I said, “outta the pool, that ain’t no Baby Ruth!”
“Ya unce, tice, fee times a mady”
“Teh jokes on you. I ain’t no slim shady”
And this is the pisser, I ain’t Willie Nelson!
Don’t mean nothin’! Still buy bagels at Gelson’s
Back dat rig over hear, don’t you purr like no cat
And it must be jelly, cuz jam don’t shake like dat!
I haven't read the NRO crowd for years. I think they had to lose several pnts of IQ to remain Never Trump. Jonah Goldberg seems to have forgotten his book on liberal fascism.
But I can be drawn into a discussion of courage. One might think that without this virtue, you have no virtue. Spend your life preparing to die in the right way. This unites a fairly simple good person with the greatest martyrs. Aristotle puts courage first. An awareness of other virtues, however, especially intellectual ones, provides a different perspective. Achilles, perhaps the greatest ancient example of courage, launches a debate: if noble virtue is different from doing what is good for oneself, then why practice it?
And of course, it is unlikely that a weaselly group of journalists can teach Trump about courage.
Democrat Reality: Come to the Free Beyonce Concert
Creating reality out of illusion. Their minions report she "drew a crowd of 30,000."
Until you start asking the people WHY they are there. "We want a free concert."
The Democrat reality doesn't even include Circuses.
The “reality” discussion reminds me a little of the awful “What’s the matter with Kansas” book some years ago. “The proles need to face reality and start supporting our wonderful lefty platform.” And if you want to push it, that really harkens back to Lenin’s assertion that the party vanguard knew better than the people what the people wanted and needed.
"Some men see things as they are and ask 'Why?' I dream things that never were and ask, 'Why not?''' – Robert F. Kennedy, quoting playwright George Bernard Shaw in his 1968 presidential campaign. (From the Arlington Cemetery website.mil website)
I would be happy to see things as they are… the rest is gravy.
And before Inga starts up ... I'll point out that there are hundreds of companies now who do nameless cell phone tracking (i.e., they keep track of numbers, without names). One of the services is location tracking. It is now possible to look at cell phones and see where they've been. You can then compare where they are today, to where they were in the past and it turns out that about 3,000 cell phones keep showing up at the same time to Kamala Harris rallies.
Meaning it's all fake. Those people aren't organically showing up. They're paid attendees, being bussed in.
Nurse Ratched, I find it surreal that you are asserting that it is your side that has a firm grip on reality. You, of all people, having years of training in biology, anatomy, microbiology, etc. So could you please explain to us how your side's "reality" so strongly insists that men can menstruate, have babies, and chest feed that if any of us dare challenge that, we can be attacked, ridiculed, or even forced out of our jobs by your team? What exactly is the reality-based thinking behind that?
"The “we” that have a firm grip on reality". The "reality" that every single Republican presidential candidate for the past 80 years has been Hitler. That "reality" ? The evidence of a deep seated and incurable democrat psychosis is revealed with every single campaign for president is undeniable. You folks could consume thorazine by the truck load and still be uncured. That word, reality, it doesn't mean what you think it means. And it's likely, demonstrably so that you never will.
Gen X would be more impressed with an MC Hammer endorsement.
The team pushing “gender affirming care” is obviously not one that is dealing with reality.
Trump said it was surreal when he first entered the White House as president, but that that feeling quickly way as the days passed. Completely understandable. He did not say that being president was surreal for four years.
"Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result." Winston Churchill
Yes, Nurse Ratched, where are you? Come back and play. Have the courage to educate us about your new reality.
Given events of recent months, perhaps Dems shouldn't be the one's pushing the whole "courage" meme:
"This is a man who has COURAGE UNDER FIRE!" [Musk] declared to the roaring crowd, his voice booming through the packed venue.
https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-donald-trump-butler-rally-courage-under-fire-1964456
"Reality is overrated" - Ken Kesey
Courage is directly proportional to risk.
Here's the CNN reality: On the weekend before the election, on the CNN homepage, there isn't a single story about Kamala Harris, her goals, her policies, any events she is at, etc. etc.
The only story on CNN's homepage right now is about the Washington Post refusing to endorse Kamala Harris (along with the LA Times ... two of the largest newspapers in the country.)
The reality is that Kamala Harris is done.
While in the Navy in the 70’s there was a saying among the enlisted “reality is for people who can’t handle drugs”
Wouldn’t it be ironic if that in the wake of legal weed almost everywhere, young people simply stopped caring about politics?
But did you notice how Inga tried to create a reality that doesn't exist.
These people are mentally ill. They NEED reality to be what it isn't and because of that they live endlessly unhappy lives. This drives them clinically insane.
Inga's firm grip on reality
Please be careful in these last days President trump. Their reality is violent.
I always get distracted when there's a post about David French. The man is such a lying con-man and fraud, I have trouble paying attention to the subject at hand.
This is a man who claimed for years to be a "Reagan Conservative" and "Life Long Republican" and voted for hillary, biden, and will vote for harris. The most leftwing Pols in my lifetime.
He claims to be a conservative and is always making the "conservative case" for the most leftwing social positions: Cf Drag queen Story Hours. He was bounced from National Review because he and Goldberg were taking money from Google and writing "The Conservative case for Big Tech" in support of them.
He claims to be against abortion, but attacks Trump who appointed the Judges to overturn Roe v. Wade and supports Democrats who would approve free abortions for everyone up to 9 months.
French claims to be christian, yet spends all this time attacking other christians, calling racists, bigots, unchristian etc.. He shows no charity toward them, and forgets he has a massive "Beam" in his eye.
Any he's a complete warmongering neo-con. He hasn't said one word about Israel killing Christian arabs in Gaza or Lebanon, or destroying churches. He supports every war, and killing kids and women in gaza, Y'know just like Jesus would.
A total liar, bully, coward, and fraud. And completely successful.
We were the party of limited government, social conservatism and a strong national defense, and these ideological lines were ruthlessly enforced.
Much like Kamala's firm grip
I agree that courage is the bedrock of all the others. Its something completely lacking in the Christian/Catholic religious leaders of today. They refuse to take on secular power no matter how evil it is. Look at the Pope and Gaza. A few peeps and silence. Or Ukraine, a useless evil war kept going by Biden to "kill Ruskiees". Supported by Protestants with almost no pushback from Catholics.
And their cringing attitude toward Jews. You'd think Jesus Christ came on earth to fight "antisemitism"!
"The "highest reality," eh?" Yeah, but IYKYK.
"reality is at stake, that it's out there, eluding us" Yes: the reality of the invasion.
"all of a sudden I'm standing in the White House, and it was very, very surreal...." Probably true: did DJT really expect to win when he started running?
"All your Republican Base are belong to us now...." French, trying to explain his position, gets lost in his logic - he's a bitter clinger to his own derangement and wistfully missing the good old RINO days.
BTW, Reagan was a patriot and an anti-communist, not a neo-con warmonger. Conservativism before WW II was isolationist, because we heeded John Adams and Washington's advice. After WW II, we have to keep "The evil empire" from taking over. In 1990, that ended. True Conservatives have never been in favor of "Invade the world, invite the world". That has always been the liberal/left globalist idea. FDR/Wilson weren't conservatives. And neither are the neo-cons like david french.
"I’m not sure about Robin Williams and reality. Williams always seemed off to me and not just because he was being humorous...."
What "reality, what a concept!" means is that he *is* out of touch with reality.
The phrase comes from an album with that title — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPAWnp27i-k — and around the 7 minute mark, he says:
"Now, a simpler poem, a poem written on acid, entitled [Robin makes a weird elongated noise that ends with the only intelligible words, 'Eve Arden.'] Those of you who understood it, went *Wow, reality, what a concept!*"
From the article: “But if the Republican view of Democrats is that low, then there are no normal Democrats. Instead, they’re a collection of depraved zealots, Marxists who are actively trying to destroy the United States. And desperate times require desperate measures — like nominating Trump again — to defeat this mortal threat.”. Got it in one, Mr. French.
"Yes. Two examples: They always say we are raging (Dan Rather said the midterms of ‘92 were decided by a temper tantrum) yet every survey shows that conservatives are far happier and content overall than liberals."
I almost put Dan Rather in this post. Remember, when he got kicked off the network and was doing his final sign-off, he ended with the single-word imperative: "Courage!"
French is correct on community over ideology. The scene is rife with people who have changed long held beliefs because of Trump. This, however , has happened in both the pro and ani Trump worlds, one only look at Liz Cheney’s gymnastics on abortion to see this.
French is also correct on values. But his point is dimmed by his support for a person who is scared to death of telling the voters what she really thinks. Yes, Trump is a horrible human being who is unfit for the office. The problem is that Harris is unfit for the office, as well.
That is why yesterday I wrote in Ron DeSantis.
What French is leaving out is that the people who lead the attack against Trump are the same people who promoted him - as a sure loser - nine years ago. Those people are the real adversaries, and the election is just a choice between the candidate they want to win, and the one they want to lose.
What French is leaving out is that the people who lead the attack against Trump are the same people who promoted him - as a sure loser - nine years ago. Those people are the real adversaries, and the election is just a choice between the candidate they want to win, and the one they want to lose.
The devolution of David French is sad. It is a true case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. And I get some Trump supporters were nasty to him. I too despise Donald Trump but we all have to compartmentalize him from his policies and from his worst supporters. The NeverTrumpers at the National Review give no indication they suddenly are in favor of progressive policies. They are still very conservative. The NeverTrumpers at the Dispatch though talk themselves into all sorts of nonsense just because they hate Trump so badly. French literally wrote an article a couple of weeks ago coming out in favor the Democrats court packing plan. He would never have ever supported anything like that were Trump not on the ballot. It's when your hatred for Trump turns into 'you know, we actually do need to tax the rich, we do need unfettered immigration, you know the teachers union is right, school choice is bad', is when you jump the shark. When the NeverTrumpers start becoming cheerleaders for progressive POLICY is when I can no longer take them seriously as fellow rightish wing travelers. They become unserious critics of Trump no different than the partisan harpies at The View.
"Ken Kesey is overrated." IrishOtter49
Trump had no idea the evil forces at work against him. He had no idea who to trust or who to surround himself with in order to achieve the promises he made. He made some horrible hiring choices... and rather than draining the swamp - he let the swamp overwhelm him. I think he thought it would be a celebrity love-fest. It was the opposite. It turned into a leftwing celebrity hate-fest. That said - All of the leftist BS revealed the mob-swamp very clearly to everyone.
On the good side - Despite being handcuffed by the lying corrupt Maddow-Schitt-Hillary FBI/mob-money whore insider-club revenge seeking left - he managed a fantastic economic boom, low unemployment... low gas prices(etc..) and NO NEW WARS.
Enter the Chi Com Gain of Function Covid virus, and new voting rules.
Says the Trump Hate Cult/ Maddow lying liar who lies person with no credibility whatsoever.
This was the real mistake the people who own the Democrats made.
Any level of competence in the candidate and they could have carried it off with all of the institutions they own. But Kamala is so stupid and obviously incompetent. Once things are seen they cannot be unseen.
There will be election reform this time. True vote counts will be ~80 million for Trump and ~55 Million for Kamala. Without mail in ballots and illegal voters Democrats will just be wiped out.
I like Ron DeSantis too - but you just voted for Kamala.
Ruy Texeira used someone else's column to help him say progressives have lost "the moment" and know it. His substack cites several reasons why along the lines of defund the police harming the communities the progressives imagined they were speaking for. Obvious, but given the source, a positive sign. It also turns out Texeira and Judis are writing or have written a new book, "Where Have All the Democrats Gone?"
You can't make this nonsense up, but that last is ominous for Republicans.
You skip right on by the Cheney/Left new alliance War Machine. Interesting. Here -
let RFK Jr. educate you a bit.
You also skip by the fact that Kamala openly states she wants an end to the First amendment.
I'll take Trump over that crap on a cracker - All day/ All night.
Trump was describing his first day when he used that word, specifically he was referring to the huge armed bubble they surrounded him with as they paraded the "wrong way" on Pennsylvania Avenue ("It's usually one-way and it felt so strange going the other way!") etc. The other specifically surreal moment he described was entering the Lincoln Bedroom for the first time with the small portrait of Tad, the son the Lincolns lost. If you listen to the JRE conversation Trump makes clear that the surreal moment passes pretty quickly.
Yes.
Russian Collusion hoaxer Inga wants everyone to know that:
- J6 protestors killed Brian Sicknick
- Hunter's Laptop is Russian disinformation
- all of those bank records showing Biden took money from foreign Oligarchs are fake
- Kamala Harris isn't a serial plagiarist
- All of the Wars Biden started are Trump's fault
- There is no inflation
- if there is inflation it is Trump's fault
- The borders are secure
- if the borders aren't secure it is Trump's fault
Inga is just a dishonest and terrible person. She knows everything she is saying is a lie. She is not that stupid.
Stop trying to gaslight people about comments you obviously didn't take the time to listen to, or as is equally likely, you want to put a false spin on to make yet another dishonest argument against Trump.
Ron Desantis supporters are even dumber than Kamala Harris supporters.
You are also more dishonest than Harris supporters. The only people more pathetic than democrats are Neverturmps.
Exactly. David French and many like him - are not paying attention to the desperate-for-power / rage filled / revenge obsessed radical left. They have completely forgotten the George Floyd riots. ... rioting that was aided by the white left.
btw- BLM is over. The money whores did nothing for blacks- they just kept it and build their mansions. Their false empire just crumbled.
Funny how the side that claims Make America Great Again is somehow a cult is the same Party that votes in lockstep 95% of the time, the only block that always votes together is the progressive wing of SCOTUS, the only party that supports teachers taking away parental rights also wants your children to sing hymns to Obama, the only party that brooks no dissent to the point they try to rid social media television and the entire entertainment industry of any conservative voice, THAT party wants to assert you are in a cult unless you vote like they tell you to.
French is a leftist democrat. That's fine. He is welcome to that crap. It is irritating that these so-called "conservatives" want to prove how "conservative" they are by agreeing to the most radical leftist poison.
Muh Dowd… where’s muh Dowd?!?!
NRO has gotten considerably more readable since the fanatical NeverTrumpers self-(I think)purged in 2019. Jim Geraghty is a pretty straight shooter and a valuable resource. Charles W. Cooke I think has become a fairly strong Trump supporter. As far as I have read (admittedly only what I can get for free) the extreme anti-Trump bent is largely gone. Just don't expect any 'Trump is playing 5-D chess'.
Too bad "Gunga Dan" didn't show any courage during Fontgate. Instead, he lied, stonewalled, and hid from press, while reading words written for him by his producer. What a fraud.
As for Robin Williams, Comedy is subjective. And I'm still trying to find one thing of his I that makes me laugh. he always seemed more frantic then funny.
"Achilles
Russian Collusion hoaxer Inga wants everyone to know that:
- J6 protestors killed Brian Sicknick
- Hunter's Laptop is Russian disinformation
- all of those bank records showing Biden took money from foreign Oligarchs are fake
- Kamala Harris isn't a serial plagiarist
- All of the Wars Biden started are Trump's fault
- There is no inflation
- if there is inflation it is Trump's fault
- The borders are secure
- if the borders aren't secure it is Trump's fault
Inga is just a dishonest and terrible person. She knows everything she is saying is a lie. She is not that stupid."
Wrong. She is. And then some.
French thinks courage is demonstrated by going along with his crowd.
"And of course, it is unlikely that a weaselly group of journalists can teach Trump about courage."
Oh, I dunno. There is value in a bad example.
from insty:
This is the Kamala campaign in a nutshell.
She brought up all these doctors to say how much they love and support abortion.
Someone in the crowd had a medical emergency and called for medics.
Not one of the abortion doctors helped them.
Spot on.
I sometimes find reading this blog to be a surreal experience. I remember back in 2016 Bill Kristol was pushing the idea that David French should run for President as an Independent. This idea was apparently taken seriously in certain quarters. Courage, that's what the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz was looking for and the Wizard told him:
"As for you, my fine friend, you're a victim of disorganized thinking. You are under the unfortunate delusion that simply because you run away from danger, you have no courage. You're confusing courage with wisdom.
“Back where I come from we have men who are called heroes. Once a year they take their fortitude out of mothballs and they parade it down the main street and they have no more courage than you have.”
The scene is rife with people who have changed long held beliefs because of Trump
Take a look in a mirror, dude
Christopher B. You do not know me so you cannot possibly know what positions I have changed since 2015. I will tell you that I have not changed my political positions at all.
Christopher B. You do not know me so you cannot possibly know what positions I have changed since 2015. I will tell you that I have not changed my political positions at all.
"That is why yesterday I wrote in Ron DeSantis."
Thereby showing that you are part of the problem, AMDG.
Achillies - being called dumb by the biggest tRump Swab on this site is a badge of honor. I can see voting for tRump but thinking that he is a man of character is nothing short of imbecility.
Achillies - being called dumb by the biggest tRump Swab on this site is a badge of honor. I can see voting for tRump but thinking that he is a man of character is nothing short of imbecility.
nor could they have without basic CPR resuscitationetc training !!!
actually better for that patient
"Funny how the side that claims Make America Great Again is somehow a cult is the same Party that votes in lockstep 95% of the time, the only block that always votes together is the progressive wing of SCOTUS, the only party that supports teachers taking away parental rights also wants your children to sing hymns to Obama, the only party that brooks no dissent to the point they try to rid social media television and the entire entertainment industry of any conservative voice, THAT party wants to assert you are in a cult unless you vote like they tell you to. "
Spot on Mike.
all of a sudden I'm standing in the White House, and it was very, very surreal.
------
made me think of astronaut crashing on planet in Ayn Rand short story
Philosophy: Who Needs It
by Ayn Rand
Address to the Graduating Class of the United States Military Academy at West Point New York — March 6, 1974
Since I am a fiction writer, let us start with a short story. Suppose that you are
an astronaut whose spaceship gets out of control and crashes on an unknown planet. When you regain consciousness and find that you are not hurt badly, the first three questions in or mind would be: Where am I? How can I discover it? What should I do?
in your mind
You aren't just dumb. You are immature and dishonest as well.
A mincing AC/DC angrily scolds his enemies…
Sally327, this is exactly why I have trouble taking David French seriously whenever he writes about Trump. I always get the impression he has a very bad case of jealousy because Trump took away his chance to run for President.
French has never displayed any courage. Collecting a check from the NYT isn’t courage. He’s a careerist.
“There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at with no result.” ― Winston Churchill
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